


Moving On, Part of the Glimpses of Ben Series

by dsa_archivist



Category: due South
Genre: Drama, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2000-07-16
Updated: 2000-07-16
Packaged: 2018-11-11 04:18:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11140887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dsa_archivist/pseuds/dsa_archivist
Summary: This Glimpse takes part as Martha and George Fraser prepare to move taking Ben with them.





	Moving On, Part of the Glimpses of Ben Series

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Speranza, the archivist: this story was once archived at [Due South Archive](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Due_South_Archive). To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in June 2017. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Due South Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/duesoutharchive).

 

 

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# Title:Moving On

Author:Lys at

Rated:G

Pairings:None

Spoilers: The Glimpses of Ben Series Stories

This is another story about little Ben Fraser taking place about the time his grandparents move near to Alert.

Alliance owns them, Paul Haggis worked on their creation and both made Due South an enjoyable place to visit.I don't own, and do not seek monetary gain from my stories.Please do not archive these stories or use any of my original created information on a website without my permission.

Now on with the story.

## Moving On

Ben grabbed the box on the floor by his bedroom door. He stood and looked around the barren room.As his eyes looked out his bedroom window for the last time he saw the trees swaying outside the glass.He held onto his box tightly and moved out to the hallway.Taking one more quick glance behind him, he pulled the door shut.Carrying the box in both hands, he listened to the silence of the children as he walked towards the kitchen.The cabin sounded hollows to the almost 8 year-old boy.He stood for a moment in the kitchen area, cocking his head and listening to the hollow nothingness that blasted his young ears.He shifted the box from one hand to the other and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt.He felt his heat beating rapidly in his small chest.A sense of panic was seizing him and he was frightened that the feeling would soon be all he could feel.

 
    
    
    Martha
    Fraser stepped in to the cabin to see what was keeping her young grandson.She stood in the doorway looking around
    her to see if she had missed anything. As she glanced in the corner where
    the rocking chair used to sit she felt the lonely feeling of the empty
    cabin draw in and hold her. She remembered all too well the many evenings
    she had set in that rocker with an unresponsive child in her arms. She
    was thankful those days were gone, and in a way she was glad to be leaving
    this home behind her. Leaving this home might be a final link in breaking
    through to little Ben and his sorrows. She wanted desperately for him
    to be like other boys his age. George was as convinced as she was that
    that wouldn't happen here. So they were in agreement, taking the job
    offered in Alert just might be what Ben needed. It was quite all right
    for two grownups to inure themselves in a quiet cabin like this, but
    a boy like Ben needed people. Martha was desperately afraid that the
    move was coming too late. But her eyes swept over the room in a last
    goodbye and came to rest on little Ben so sorrowfully wiping his eyes.
    
    
    Taking
    soft steps, Martha approached and knelt down beside the boy. She took
    out her own handkerchief and used it to wipe his eyes. The boy stood
    quietly beside her, as she looked deep into his eyes. "You'll like
    Alert, Ben.Your Grandpere and
    I have located a place just outside the town, but near enough for you
    to make some friends your own age." The boy made no response but
    merely nodded his head as he sniffled. "Ben Fraser, stop that right
    now. 
    
    
    You're
    going to make me cry in a minute. Moving isn't the end of the world."
    
    
    "I'll
    miss my swing." The boy dropped his eyes from her face. "And
    all my secret places." Not to mention all the animals the boy added
    in his mind.
    
    
    Martha
    leaned back a bit from the boy."Then
    look on this as an adventure. You love to read about foreign places,
    this will be a chance for you to see new things and meet new people."
    
    
    "Don't
    want new things, Gran.I like
    the old ones."
    
    
    "I
    know you do Ben, I know you do."
    
    
    "Do
    we really have to go?"
    
    
    "You
    know we go where we're needed, Ben.We
    don't normally stay in one place as long as we have stayed here.Our job is important Ben.People want to learn and we can help them with books and
    materials for learning.That's
    our job."
    
    
    "Will
    the new cabin have trees around it?Will
    I have a swing?"
    
    
    "Why
    don't you put your box in the car and we'll talk about it on the trip.I think you're going to find lots of
    new things where we're going Ben. And yes, I think we can manage a swing."
    
    
    Ben
    obediently picked up his box and headed out to the door, he stopped there
    but didn't look back as he left the cabin, never to see it again. He
    stood near the car watching his Grandpere loading some of the last minute
    boxes in the trailer he had hired for the move.He handed his small box to his grandfather and stood back
    to look around the clearing.The
    barn drew his gaze the longest and he imagined some other little boy
    using his swing and his climbing rope. In his mind, he heard the dogs
    and chickens and geese that normally roamed the area near the barn.They had all been sent on ahead to
    the new cabin.Ben knew in his
    heart that the barn was as empty as the cabin. Resignedly, with a great
    deal of sighing, he climbed into the big, old car and sat in the back
    seat staring straight ahead. 
    
    
    George
    and Martha stood next to each other one last time on the porch of the
    cabin and looked around the grounds. George slipped his hand into Martha's
    and gripped it hard."It's
    going to work out, you'll see. This is what Ben needs. We've been too
    isolated here. The boy gets into mischief for sure, but he needs to learn
    how to 'be' with other people. He needs people who laugh with him. He
    needs other boys, other children. We're doing the right thing, I know
    we are."
    
    
    Martha
    leaned over to her husband and gently placed her hand on his face."We're too old for all this.I had thought we might retire here."
    
    
    "I
    know dear, but moving is the right thing to do."
    
    
    "Yes,
    it is.I'm not arguing that fact.I just want Ben to act more alive.
    He's come so far George. His little heart is breaking; this is the only
    home he remembers. I think he hardly remembers Caroline. And I know,
    Robert promises he will be able to visit Ben more in Alert. But Robert
    can't predict the whims of the RCMP or his duties and I am afraid this
    move might make the two of them more distant than they are right now."
    
    
    "It's
    not like Robert and Caroline living on the Rat, Martha. We'll be closer
    to civilization for Ben's sake. I worry sometimes that that young scamp
    is going to get hurt and because we're here we won't be able to help
    him. He needs what we'll have in Alert, Martha."
    
    
    She
    nodded and pulled away. "Let's get out of here." She threw
    her husband a smile and walked to the car. Climbing in she handed Ben
    a large book that she had been saving for him to read or look at on the
    trip.
    
    
    "The
    Gold Rush of 1849" Ben read as he put the book in his lap.This time Martha had chosen a book
    with a wonderful colorful picture on the front along with beautiful illustrations
    on the inside of it. He looked up at his Grandmother and smiled.
    
    
    "It's
    all about pioneers Ben and how people traveled across a whole continent
    to find their dreams."
    
    
    "Did
    they travel in a car like us?"
    
    
    "No
    dear, they didn't. You'll find out as you read that some of the people
    even walked from one side of the continent to the other in search of
    gold."
    
    
    Ben's
    eyes looked down at the book as he heard his Grandpere get in the car
    and start up the engine.He kept
    his eyes on the cover of the book until the car pulled out onto the old
    country road that lead away from the only home he remembered.
    
    
    Traveling
    to Alert was no small project and because of the trailer the Fraser's
    had decided to take their time. They had notified their new employer
    that they would arrive in time to set up the library and school for the
    next school session. The first traveling days were long and boring, Ben
    falling asleep often in the car. At times, Martha wished she could sleep
    so that thoughts of their new home would leave her alone. 
    
    
    George
    had traveled to Alert when they first heard of the opening and found
    them a place to live. He drove silently most of the time keeping his
    thoughts about their new home private. He hadn't told Martha much more
    than that he thought she would like the new place. He had been purposefully
    uncommunicative about the cabins details. He hummed as he drove and listened
    to the boy either reading or asking questions about the 1849 gold rush
    in California.Martha answered
    the child with complete answers and listened to him reading out loud
    for some of the time, she was continually patient with Ben's questions.
    
    
    By
    the time Alert reached, each of the occupants of the car was heartily
    tired of traveling. Ben was bored with the scenery and Martha was hoping
    she could get to the linens box easily in the trailer. George drove down
    the main street of Alert to let Martha and Ben see their new town, but
    it was too near dusk and there wasn't much to be seen. It looked as Martha
    commented like a town that rolled its sidewalk up at night.
    
    
    Finally,
    George pulled their car into a side road and drove down a long single
    car road.The sound of crunching
    stones wakened Ben and the boy climbed to his knees trying to see out
    the front window. 
    
    
    "Awake
    are you Ben?" George smiled and pulled the car into a clearing much
    like the one they had left behind them.This was no small cabin that stood in front of the Fraser car,
    but a full two-story cabin home.About
    100 yards from the cabin stood a nice garage and barn.The sound of George's dog team howling greeted them as the
    car pulled up and stopped by the front door.
    
    
    Martha
    sat and stared.She was more than
    a little surprised.This home
    wasn't very far outside Alert.She'd
    have actual neighbors she was sure.There
    were bound to be children around for Ben to see whenever he wanted.She climbed out of the car and held
    the seat forward for Ben to climb out.The two stood together cautious about entering their new home.George climbed out of the car and walked
    over to grab their hands.
    
    
    "Come
    on.I have the key right here."
    
    
    "A
    key?"
    
    
    George
    smiled at his wife."Yes,
    a key."
    
    
    The
    Fraser family climbed the steps to the biggest porch Martha had ever
    seen.She could already see that
    the porch faced West and she could imagine the sunsets they would see
    as they sat there of an evening. She noticed the very large front window
    of the house and smiled.
    
    
    George
    unlocked the door and drew his family inside with a smile. He watched
    Martha with a pleased look on his face. He'd always promised her a home,
    not a cabin. He was keeping that promise. He watched Martha look at the
    hallway that divided the house in two.She glanced into the doorway at the right and saw a huge room
    that must be the living room; it was filled with their side chairs and
    a lovely sofa. The trailer had carried their boxes, but their furniture
    had been sent on ahead and Martha knew that George had arranged for someone
    to put up their bedroom furniture before they arrived.
    
    
    Whirling
    quickly she turned to the left and entered her new kitchen. A huge window
    set over the sink, a far larger window than at the old cabin.The floor was more than plain wood, it was lovely polished
    and well-cared for oak flooring.There
    were more cabinets and besides a stove for heating the room in the winter
    there was a real stove, one that had an oven warming bin on the top.
    But what Martha noticed most was the lack of a water pump on the counter.She turned and gave George a questioning
    look.He nodded and said, "Yes,
    really running water, in the kitchen and the bath."
    
    
    Martha
    hugged her husband and turned back to Ben. "Perhaps you should go
    up and see your room Ben." George moved away and turned on the hall
    lights by the stairway."It's
    the last room on the left Ben." George said smiling at the small,
    drooping boy.
    
    
    Ben
    was tired and moved sluggishly towards the stairs not comprehending all
    his grandmother had seen in their new home. He climbed the stairs slowly
    not anticipating that he would like his new room. He made it to the top
    and listlessly went down the hall. He found the door to the last bedroom
    and turned the handle. There was enough pale twilight filtering into
    the room for Ben to see his bed.That's
    all his little brain registered as he crossed the floor, pulled back
    the covers and climbed in to his bed.
    
    
    The
    morning light crawled up Ben's bed covers until it hit him directly in
    the face.He fretted and moved
    away from it, but it finally claimed his attention. He sat up and stretched
    and stifled a yawn. Swinging his feet to the floor he realized he could
    smell his grandmother's coffee brewing.He stood up to stretch and yawn and stopped. In this cabin, he
    had more than a bed and a nightstand. A lovely old desk sat near one
    corner, the kind of desk that had drawers and secret panels and hiding
    places.Next to it was an equally
    old bookcase.All his outdoor
    equipment was hung on the wall, within his reach.He walked over to see his compass hanging from a string
    next to his canteen.His favorite
    walking stick leaned against the bookcase. On the wall over his camping
    and backpacking equipment was a map. The boy walked over to see it more
    clearly and realized it was a town map of Alert and the surrounding area
    with a red marker drawn in a circle around what appeared to be a large,
    red X.
    
    
    Ben's
    door slid open slowly and George Fraser peeked his head around the door.He saw Ben standing in front of the
    map and looking at it intently.
    
    
    "See
    you've found your boundaries Ben."
    
    
    Ben
    whipped his head quickly in his grandfather's direction. "Whose
    map is that, Grandpere?"
    
    
    George
    walked over and laid a gentle hand on Ben's shoulder.He pointed a finger at the red circle."That's your map Ben. See that X Ben?That's our house. Until you know the area around here, you're
    not allowed outside the red marked area. I'll take you over it so you
    know your way around, but you can't go outside the boundaries until you
    know the area.Agreed?"
    
    
    Ben
    smiled up at his grandparent and nodded enthusiastically.Maybe moving could be an adventure after all. He quickly
    put his finger on the map and started asking questions.


End file.
